We examin inter alia statistical trends in Australian immigration, waves of policy change affecting immigration, current immigration policy, the countries of origin of Australia's immigrants, services provided for them on arrival, reasons why people come to Australia, and the costs and benefits of immigration. This approach takes immigration into an objective realm where it is all too easy to forget that it is something that touches most people's lives on a daily basis. As the Special Broadcasting Services (SBS) television channel constantly reminds us, "the world is an amazing place" and Australia, like many Western countries might, in some respects, be described as "the world in one place."